Futurist of the Nation

"The reason I chose this book is that Debray is one of the most eminent left-wing intellectuals alive now in France. He comes from a very radical tradition: in the 1960s he trained with Fidel Castro, he went and fought with Che Guevara in the jungles of Bolivia… His left-wing credentials are absolutely impeccable, and yet in 1990, the centenary year of de Gaulle’s birth, he brings out this book in which he celebrates de Gaulle’s memory. This quite a big shock because up to this point his political background seemed to be opposed to all the things it seemed de Gaulle stood for. What Debray does in the book is to go over his own trajectory and all the people he worked for and he comes to the conclusion that the left in France had never really understood the nation, what it means to be part of a nation, and that the person who understands this best is de Gaulle. Debray is not talking about ‘nationalism’ but rather something the French call ‘fraternity’, which is an ideal which also involves justice and solidarity. It’s very striking not least because it’s so unexpected. But there are personal elements involved. When Debray was in Latin America in the 1960s he was caught in Bolivia and ended up spending four years in jail. And de Gaulle actually interceded with the Bolivian government and launched the process of getting him freed. Well, the reaction was mixed. I think many on the left, who saw de Gaulle as a kind of fascist dictator, were surprised that one of their own should sing the praises of such a man. But what was happening more widely on the French left was that in the late 80s, early 90s, there was a reappraisal of what the left stood for. Mitterrand had been in power by then for nearly a decade and a lot of things had gone wrong, and so Debray’s association with de Gaulle symbolises a search for something pure, something untainted. If one is being unkind you could say that Debray was always in search of a father figure – first of all it was Fidel, then Che, then he went to Chile and was with Allende, and then lastly Mitterrand. In his memoir, Praised Be Our Lords, he offers a reappraisal of each of these four figures and in the end it’s a negative view that predominates. So, if you think of it like that, Debray turns to de Gaulle in the end because all his father figures have disappointed him. And it’s a father figure that de Gaulle has become today for many French people, someone who represents the kind of old-fashioned virtues you would associate with a father – austere and tough but pure and incorruptible. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . Having spent so much time working on his myth, I sometimes have to remind myself of some of the bad things about him. This is why having a biography on my list is so important because a biographer looks at the whole of the life, not just the good bits."